50 For 50: Davison Igbinosun At His Very Best

Welcome to our daily feature that I am calling “50 for 50” where I attempt to get us to Big Ten Media Days — which are 31 days away — with a daily sampling of what we can look forward to this upcoming college football season. Today’s edition features Ohio State wide receiver Mylan Graham, cornerback Davison Igbinosun, and more.

As always, we will do this via the following categories: the 50 biggest individual matchups for the Buckeyes this season, the 50 most important college football games this season, 50 Buckeye things to look forward to this season, 50 national predictions, 50 Big Ten predictions, and 50 predictions involving the Buckeyes.

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Biggest Buckeye Matchups

TEXAS DT MARAAD WATSON VS. OHIO STATE LG LUKE MONTGOMERY

Texas brought five defensive tackles in via the transfer portal this year, including former Buckeye Hero Kanu. Ohio State left guard Luke Montgomery will likely be dealing with all of them at some point in the season opener, but we’ll go ahead and target Syracuse transfer Maraad Watson here. The Buckeyes went after Watson in the portal, but he opted for the Longhorns. He had a very good freshman season last year. More is expected this year. Montgomery will have his hands full all game long, especially when Watson is in the game.

Most Important Games

FLORIDA GATORS AT TEXAS A&M AGGIES, OCT. 11

Texas A&M has won three of the five meetings between these two schools since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012. Both of these teams want to make the playoffs, but a loss in this game is going to be too much for somebody to overcome. Florida’s SEC schedules the past two seasons have been daunting, and this year’s no better. The Gators host Texas the week before heading to College Station. Head coach Billy Napier would take a .500 record right now in those two games. Hell, he’d take a .500 record in their four-game stretch of at LSU, at Miami, Texas, and at Texas A&M. He may even be okay with a .250 mark.

Things To Look Forward To

CORNERBACK DAVISON IGBINOSUN AS A SENIOR.

Davison Igbinosun has nearly 40 career starts in major college football, which means he is a luxury for a defense. In an era when throwing the football is more and more prevalent, so is the need to defend it. Igbinosun isn’t just experienced, he is very talented and able to handle the physicality of big-time college football. He sees the best receivers every day in practice, so the games are never too much for him. This will be the absolute best version of Davison Igbinosun, and that’s a very good thing for the Buckeyes.

National College Football Predictions

CHIP TRAYANUM WILL RUSH FOR AT LEAST 1,258 YARDS.

Former Arizona State Sun Devil/Ohio State Buckeye/Kentucky Wildcat Chip Trayanum is now at Toledo where he is headed towards being the Rockets’ starting running back. He has rushed for 1,257 yards in his five-year career, which is why I’m going one yard better than that with my prediction. Trayanum missed almost the entire year last year, so he’s very well rested. Hopefully he can be very productive for Toledo.

Big Ten Football Predictions

DYLAN RAIOLA WILL THROW FOR 300 YARDS IN THE SEASON OPENER.

Nebraska sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola is back for his second year as the Huskers’ starter. He did not have a 300-yard passing game last year, but did go for 297 yards against Illinois in a game that exposed both his potential and his youth. The Huskers open the season against Cincinnati on a Thursday in Kansas City, so all eyes are going to be on Raiola and what he can be in his second season behind center. Expect head coach Matt Rhule to want his QB to put on a show.

Ohio State Football Predictions

RECEIVER MYLAN GRAHAM WILL HAVE AN 80-YARD RECEPTION.

Here is the list of Ohio State players with a reception of at least 80 yards over the last 10 seasons: 1) Terry McLaurin (2017); and 2) Emeka Egbuka (2021). I am predicting that redshirt freshman receiver Mylan Graham will join the list this season. I can’t tell you exactly when or where, but it feels more like a catch-and-run than a deep route. I’ll say at least 55 of the yards will come after the catch, but that does not count as part of my prediction. This is just an after-prediction mint for you to enjoy.

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